4/5 "Johnny Mack Brown Series ... Double Features (1935) ... Poverty Row"
  by J. Lovins (Missouri-USA)
Poverty Row Pictures present "LONE STAR TRAIL/THE CROOKED TRAIL" (1935) (116 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor --- Born and raised in Dothan, Alabama, Brown was a star of the high school football team, earning a football scholarship to the University of Alabama --- Playing the halfback position on his university's Crimson Tide football team, Brown helped his team to become the 1926 NCAA Division I-A national football champions --- In that year's Rose Bowl Game, he earned Most Valuable Player honors after scoring two of his team's three touchdowns in an upset win over the heavily favored Washington Huskies.

His good looks and powerful physique saw him portrayed on Wheaties cereal boxes and in 1927, brought an offer for motion picture screen tests that resulted in a long and successful career in Hollywood --- He appeared in minor roles until 1930 when he was cast as the star in a western movie entitled "Billy the Kid" and directed by King Vidor, the film also features Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett.

Brown went on to make several top-flight movies under the name John Mack Brown, including The Secret Six (1931) with Wallace Beery, as well as the legendary Lost Generation celebration of alcohol, "The Last Flight" (1931), and was being groomed by MGM as a leading man until being replaced on a film in 1931, with all his scenes reshot with Clark Gable in his place --- Rechristened Johnny Mack Brown, "Fighting Kit Carson" (1933) he returned to making exclusively westerns and eventually became one of the screen's top B-movie cowboy stars, making 127 western films during his career, including "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (1942) with Abbott and Costello --- Brown also starred in four serials for Universal Studios (Rustlers of Red Dog (1935), Wild West Days (1937), Flaming Frontiers (1938) and The Oregon Trail (1939) and was a hero to millions of young children at movie theaters and on their television screens --- Altogether, Brown appeared in over 160 movies between 1927 and 1966, as well as a smattering of television shows, in a career spanning almost forty years --- In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, Brown was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd --- In 1969, Brown was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The first film of this double feature - "LONE STAR TRAIL" (6 August 1943) (57 mins/B&W)

Under the production staff of:
Ray Taylor - Director
Oliver Drake - Producer / Screenwriter
Victor Halperin - Screen Story
William Sickner - Cinematographer
Hans Salter - Musical Direction/Supervision / Composer (Music Score)
Ray Snyder - Editor
John B. Goodman - Art Director

The story line and plot, the story line has two of our favorite B-Western heroes Johnny Mack Brown and Tex Riter providing all the action of this unusual tale --- Johnny Mack is just out of prison after being framed for a train holdup --- Fuzzy Knight provides the comedy with Tex Ritter and Jimmy Wakely the songs --- why is this gang of outlaws trying to take over the valley land, could it be a dam is coming their way --- what part of this scheme does Robert Mitchum, Earle Hodgins and Jack Ingram play when the Universal Picture stunt people punch the time clock --- not to mention the marked bills passed off to Johnny Mack to pay back taxes...this is one of his best, so saddle up and enjoy - - - - - special footnote, Fuzzy Knight was the sidekick with his comical ways in many B-Westerns in the '30s & '40s with Johnny Mack Brown and Tex Ritter, finally landing a co-starring role with Buster Crabbe on the small tube in the TV series "Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion" (1955) as Private Fuzzy Knight - - - - - another special footnote, actor Robert Mitchum generally played macho heroes in film noir flicks "Out of the Past (1947), "The Big Steal" (1949), "His kind of Woman" (1951), "My Forbidden Past" (1951), and villains in B-Westerns (Hopalong Cassidy & Johnny Mack Brown) "Colt Comrades" (1943), False Colors (1943), "The Leather Burners" (1943), "Hoppy Serves A Writ" (1943) -- then played one of his most dsturbing psycoic villains the evangelist Reverend Harry Powell in Charles Laughton's "Night of the Hunter" (1955), which he won critical acclaim - - - - meanwhile this exciting Johnny Mack Brown western provided all the youngsters a hero and someone to look up to.

the cast includes:
Johnny Mack Brown ... Blaze Barker
Tex Ritter ... Fargo Steele
Fuzzy Knight ... Angus MacAngus
Jennifer Holt ... Joan Winters
Jimmy Wakely ... Jimmy - Leader, Jimmy Wakely Trio
Earle Hodgins ... Mayor Cyrus Jenkins
Jack Ingram ... Henchman Dan Jason
Robert Mitchum ... Ben Slocum
George Eldredge ... Doug Ransom
Michael Vallon ... Jonathan Bentley
Ethan Laidlaw ... Steve Bannister
Harry Strang ... Sheriff Waddell (as Harry Strange)
Jimmy Wakely Trio ... Musicians, Cowhands
Victor Adamson ... Townsman
Johnny Bond ... Johnny - Member, Jimmy Wakely Trio
Bob Burns ... Barfly (
William Desmond ... Mike - Bartender
Billy Engle ... Shorty
White Flash ... Tex's Horse (
Fred Graham ... Henchman
Scotty Harrel ... Guitar player - Jimmy Wakely Trio
Carl Mathews ... Townsman
Art Mix ... Barfly
Eddie Parker ... Henchman Lem

Second feature - "THE CROOKED TRAIL" (25 July 1936) (58 mins/B&W)

Under the production staff of:
Roy S. Luby - Director
A.W. Hackel - Producer
George Plympton - Screenwriter

Long running Johnny Mack Brown series turned out in the early '40s --- the story line has two of the cast Johnny Mack Brown and John Merton finding a goldmine and becoming partners --- Merton's background is a shakey one of the outlaws life --- Brown wants to give Merton every break he can and change his evil ways --- Lucile Browne has a plan to open Johnny Macks eyes, will he see Merton for what he is --- Can it be that Lucile will run off with Merton, thus stopping a bullet meant for our hero Brown --- There's an exciting fistfight between Johnny Mack and Charles King that is well worth the price of a ticket --- Will the final showdown live up to all we expect from the Johnny Mack Brown Supreme films series --- The screenplay by George Plympton is over the top and gives the B-Western fans all the excitement and drama we long for -- a particular favorite of mine - - - - - special footnote, actor Charles King was among the top five "Best of the Badmen" (according to a new book by Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland)...King was a big man, but as agile as a cat during his fight scenes with Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Tex Ritter, The Rough Riders and Bob Steele...King appeared in 400 films and 350 were in sound including many cliffhangers...he was the heavy we loved to hate - - - - - meanwhile back to another great Johnny Mack B-Western provided by Supreme Pictures during their heyday of the early '30s.

the cast includes:
Johnny Mack Brown ... Jim Blake
Lucile Browne ... Helen Carter
John Merton ... Harve Tarlton
Charles King ... Lanning
Ted Adams ... Estaban Salano
John Van Pelt ... Tex, a miner
Ed Cassidy ... Grimby, a miner (as Edward Cassidy)
Horace Murphy ... Carter
Horace B. Carpenter ... The Parson
Dick Curtis ... Kirk, a Miner
Earl Dwire ... Miner
Jack Evans ... Barfly
Artie Ortego ... Card Player
Tex Palmer ... Miner
Fred Parker ... Card player
Hal Price ... Miner

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIO:
1. Johnny Mack Brown
Date of Birth: 1 September 1904 - Dothan, Alabama
Date of Death: 14 November 1974 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure check out other western double features by Johnny Mack Brown:

JOHNNY MACK BROWN WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURES:
1. Raiders of San Joaquin/Law of the Range (VCI #7226)
2. Pony Post/Ragtime Cowboy Joe (VCI #7238)
3. Brand A Coward/Rogue of the Range (VCI #7244)
4. Guns in the Dark/Partner of the Trail (VCI #7260)
5. Bar Z Bad Men/Between Men (VCI #7282)
6. Bad Man from Red Butte/Rawhide Rangers (VCI #8348)
7. Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie & Lone Star Trail (VCI #7308)
8. Crooked Trail & Boot Hill Brigade (VCI #7309)
9. Arizona Cyclone & Man From Montana (VCI #7325)
10.A Lawman Is Born & The Gambling Terror (VCI #7327)
11.Chip Of The Flying U & Oklahoma Frontier (VCI #7329)
12.Silver Bullet & Law and Order (VCI #7331)
13.Raiders of the Border & Texas Kid (VCI #7333)
14.Under Cover Man & Stagecoach Buckaroo (VCI #7335)

JOHNNY MACK BROWN FOUR FEATURE:
CLASSIC WESTERNS: Crooked Trail; Boot Hill Brigade;
Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie; Lone Star Trail (VCI #5520)

JOHNNY MACK BROWN - UNIVERSAL CLIFFHANGER/SERIALS:
1. FIGHTING WITH KIT CARSON (VCI #8419)
2. FLAMING FRONTIERS (VCI #8442)
3. OREGON TRAIL, THE (VCI #8439)
4. RUSTLERS OF RED DOG (VCI #8397)

Ask Amazon.Com to carry the above titles as many are not available on Amazon as of yet...you can order and pick up your copy now from VCI Entertainment...if you enjoyed this collection, why not pick up other copies of Johnny Mack Brown Double Features.

Bobby J. Copeland's book published by Empire Publising on "Johnny Mack Brown: Up Close & Personal" is chuck full of answers to all the questions his fans had from early on --- when you went to see him on the big screen, you got exactly what the marquee said...plenty of thrills, adventure and loaded with action --- Johnny Mack was a natural for the western, his riding abilities and fight scenes were of the the same caliber as Buck Jones and Bob Steele --- Johnny Mack sets the saddle better than Duke Wayne --- seems Johnny got better with the more films he made and the scripts were always top notch --- he was one of the best-liked people in films, what you saw on the screen is what he really was, a great human being.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of B-Westerns with high drama, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- please stand up and take a bow Western Classics --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 116 min on VHS/DVD ~ Poverty Row ~ (10/30/2007)